Page 4 - Department Of Telecommunications

MTNL-BSNL service agreement awaits as DoT checks for tax implications

The 10-year service agreement is crucial for MTNL which is struggling with a heavy debt load of Rs 31,944.51 crore as well as facing operational challenges

BSNL subscribers on rise, homegrown 4G network ready: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday claimed that the subscriber base for the government-run BSNL has been increasing, while a homegrown 4G network is also ready and work is on to convert it to 5G. Talking to reporters here, the Union minister for communications said under Atmanirbhar Bharat, a 4G network with indigenous technology is ready and, in a few months, its services will be available across the country through the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). "Several people had asked when Jio, Airtel and Vodafone rolled out the 4G network, why not BSNL? It was the prime minister's resolution that if we have to develop a government-run company's network, we will not use equipment from China or any other foreign country," Scindia said. It was decided that an indigenous technology would be developed, he said. "PM Modi has resolved under Atmanirbhar Bharat that India will develop its own 4G stack, core system or towers called radiation access network (RAN). India will devel

SAR Televenture looking to raise Rs 450 cr through rights issue and FPO

Telecommunication infrastructure provider SAR Televenture is looking to raise Rs 450 crore through rights issue and follow-on public offer (FPO). This comprises a rights issue of shares worth up to Rs 300 crore and a follow-on public offering (FPO) of up to Rs 150 crore, according to the draft papers. The company proposes to utilise the proceeds to the tune of Rs 273 crore to set up fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network solutions, Rs 42.5 crore for setting up an additional 1,000 4G/5G telecom towers, Rs 30 crore for incremental working capital requirements and the balance amount for general corporate purposes in FY 2025. The rights issue consists of 1.50 crore equity shares of Rs 2 each at an issue price of Rs 200 per rights share. The issue opens on July 15 and will close on July 22. "Existing shareholders will get one rights share for one equity share held as on record date July 9, 2024," the company announced. Meanwhile, the price band of the FPO has been fixed at Rs 200-Rs 210 per

Govt likely to pay bond interest dues of MTNL, assuring no default

The government will pay the bond dues of ailing Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), a DoT source said assuring that there will be no default, and that the amount will be paid before the due date of July 20. The move assumes significance as it would avert a looming crisis for the telecom corporation which is being seen teetering on the brink with regard to its debt obligations that are becoming due. All eyes are on MTNL, ever since the debt-laden firm last week expressed its inability to make interest payments to certain bondholders due to paucity of funds. Telecom Department sources said that the government will step in and pay the said dues, and asserted that there won't be any default on the same. In this particular case, where the second semi-annual interest (7.59 per cent) on certain bonds is falling due on July 20, 2024, DoT sources said that "the dues will be paid before the date". Amid mounting financial woes, MTNL last week informed in a statutory filing that it is unable

DoT suspends 24,229 fraud mobile connections linked to three numbers

Many of the mobile numbers found in the latest reported cache of connections showed suspected activity and have been disconnected in one go, officials said

Has Airtel's customer database been breached by hackers? Company says this

A hacker had posted on X that data of nearly 375 million Airtel customers, including phone numbers, email addresses, and Aadhaar numbers, were supposedly for sale on the dark web

New telecom law to come into effect from June 26: What are the changes?

The Telecommunications Act of 2023 was approved by both Houses during the Winter Session in December last year and received presidential assent in the same month

Notifying new telecom rules DoT's focus for first 100 days: Officials

Terms of reference for satellite spectrum allocation, processes for data interception in the works, say officials

Vaishnaw takes charge of IT Ministry, wants India to be tech leader

Focus will be on semiconductors, telecommunications, and manufacturing, he says

DoT's 100-day agenda intact: Crackdown on rising spam calls, text messages

DoT is also preparing terms of reference for allocation of satellite spectrum

Telecom operators seek 5-6 year moratorium on spectrum purchases after 2025

Operators said such a moratorium is needed on spectrum bought in auctions from next year due to significant capital expenditure incurred in deploying 5G services

DoT identifies property assets of BSNL and MTNL for 'outright sale'

The government has listed over 100 properties of MTNL for outright sale through an auction process

Govt's telecom revenue for FY24 expected to miss target by Rs 10,000 cr

Under the 2022 revival package totalling Rs 1.64 trillion and the Rs 89,047 crore allocation in 2023, the government is set to provide spectrum and settle adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues for BSNL

Govt working to prevent international spoof calls deceiving Indian citizens

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and the Department of Telecommunications are collaborating to block the influx of overseas spoof calls that falsely alleging digital arrests

DoT asks operators to re-verify over 600,000 mobile connections in 60 days

The Department of Telecom has directed telecom operators to verify more than 6 lakh mobile connections suspected to have been obtained using invalid, non-existent, or fake documents, an official statement said on Thursday. The DoT has issued directives to telecom operators to carry out immediate re-verification of the identified mobile numbers within 60 days. "DoT has identified approximately 6.80 lakh mobile connections suspected to have been obtained using invalid, non-existent, or fake and forged Proof of Identity (PoI) and Proof of Address (PoA) KYC documents," the statement said. The department has flagged around 6.80 lakh mobile connections as potentially fraudulent after advanced AI-driven analysis. "The questionable veracity of the PoI/PoA KYC documents suggests the use of fabricated documents for obtaining these mobile connections. DoT has issued directives to the TSPs to carry out immediate re-verification of these identified mobile numbers. All TSPs are mandated to ...

Ineffective interventions

Spam calls must be stopped

Value of mergers and acquisitions at lowest level in at least 76 months

With 98 deals, the total value of M&A stood at $1.8 billion. In the same month last year, the value was $8 billion across 204 deals

Govt portal pins 898,000 missing phones, less than 15% recovered: DoT

Only 1.43% of traced stolen phones finally recovered, 69% in Telangana

DoT to telecom operators: How much of legacy gear is non-trusted?

Considers US-like 'rip & replace' scheme to help telcos shift to 'trusted sources' to ensure national security

Telecom operators group asks govt to ban sale of unlicenced WiFi 6E routers

Cellular Operators Association of India says routers are available for sale on e-commerce platforms and through offline retailer